“We should report this to the authorities and kill these two!” Someone shouted.
“Right, we can report them to the authorities and to the officials!” Many people agreed.
Xue Wufu’s voice was the loudest.
Xue Dagui’s tears stopped. “Why don’t you guys help me kill them?” he asked. The reason he came back was to seek help anyway.
There was a moment of silence and a lot of people were embarrassed.
An older man said, “Ahem, that would make things complicated, boy. We all followed the refugees in exile here before settling down. Many of us were originally from different places, and we didn’t have any clans or ancestral halls. We haven’t punished anyone for so many years. Even if we can help you beat them to death, that will be all we can do. But if you want us to beat people to death, I’m afraid that’ll be impossible and…”
After stammering for a long time, he ended up not finishing his sentence.
“Dagui, if you really want to kill them now, can you really do it? Aren’t you afraid of having nightmares at night? It’s better to hand them over to the authorities. They committed a crime, so it’s best to hand them over. The authorities will take care of it as they see fit. They will have to live under the jurisdiction of the authorities.”
“That’s right, that’s right,” someone echoed. “We’re all just farmers. It’s better to hand it over to the professionals.”
Even though Xue Dagui was still in a fit of anger, he had already calmed down a lot. When he thought about the scene of him actually killing someone, he was also terrified, so he quickly said, “Then I’ll hand them over to the authorities instead.”
Everyone heaved a sigh of relief.
Even Xue Dafu heaved a sigh of relief. It was fine to beat them up but to really kill them, to be honest, he couldn’t bring himself to do it even if he was forced to.
Xue Gouzi lowered his head and kept crying. His father had never treated him this well. This was supposed to be a good thing and he should be happy. However, his mother was having an affair. Although his brother was still his brother that had another father… If this were reported to the authorities, his mother would be beheaded.
He had heard that adultery was punishable by death.
No matter how bad his mother was, she was still the mother who gave birth to him. He still didn’t want his mother to die.
As he thought about it, Xue Gouzi still opened his mouth timidly, “Father, c-can we did not report this to the authorities?”
Xue Dagui was immediately infuriated. “Why shouldn’t I? You’re just going to let me raise someone else’s son for nothing and let him be a b*stard?”
“Gouzi, think about it.” An aunt couldn’t help but say. “Why would the government want to kill such a person? It’s because they’re in the wrong. If they don’t teach them a lesson, others might start following suit thinking it’ll be okay. Which is why this crime is so serious. In my hometown, there’s an ancestral hall. The fate of these people are all decided by the elders. They’re directly drowned in the pig cage without being reported to the government. Your mother and Chen Laoba are a couple. If you don’t let them die, what’s the reason to keep them alive? To give other people ideas?”
“But, but I can…”
Xue Gouzi still wanted to say something, but Xue Dagui was even angrier and cut him off, “Alright! You’re my son, why are you siding with an outsider? Are you happy to see Chen Laoba cuckold me? They can’t wait for me to die so that we can become a family, and you’re happy with that?”
Xue Gouzi didn’t dare to speak.
He still didn’t want his mother to die. As for Chen Laoba, he didn’t really care.
As soon as Xue Dagui and the others returned to the village, they ran into Wang Sufen.
Wang Sufen, the middle-aged woman, immediately walked up to him and gloated, “Dagui, I heard that Meili had an affair? How can this be a good sign?! I already told you that you were blind to have married such a wife, but you didn’t believe me!”